Community Highlights: Meet Bessie McIntosh of Merkabody

Today we’d like to introduce you to Bessie McIntosh. 

Hi Bessie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello, I am Bessie McIntosh, the Maker & Founder of Merkabody. The woman behind the “kitchen witching” of our formulas to the creative design of our products. I have spent my adult life building and promoting several ventures with a common theme. Health and sustainability. I am awe-inspired by the unseen realms, biohacking, my connection to nature, the power of plants as medicine, and my awareness of what my family consumes. 

Merkabody started through the “mother of necessity”. In 2018 my young teenage son had crippling anxiety with the desire to try CBD oil. As a mom, I am hyper-vigilant about ingredients, sourcing, and what unseen chemicals are in everything my family ingests. I dove into research about cannabinoids, then investigated the companies my son was familiar with. What I discovered left me feeling hesitant about buying from any of those companies. Yet, I was convinced that this plant medicine would help calm my son’s anxiety quickly and effectively with no side effects. Specifically, I found that quality and effectiveness were sadly missing from 85% of the products on the market. Chemicals used in growing/processing, potency testing not in line with claims, and a lot of shady business happening in the industry. The few companies I had found that checked all my boxes were extremely expensive. With a background in health and business, I decided to source and formulate a formula for my son. A formula I knew I could trust. 

During this first year of product development, I was hit with my own autoimmune related health issue. Knowing that the body has the inherited ability to heal itself if we give it what it needs, I declined the medical diagnosis and created a protocol for my own healing. Over the course of a few years, my bootstrapped endeavor ended up with a handful of formulas utilizing natural ingredients that are not well known in the collective consciousness; cannabinoids being just 1 ingredient type I utilize in a few of my products. I achieved what I originally set out to do. I eased my son’s anxiety, without the pharmaceutical industry. I also helped countless family members and friends with several health issues and healed myself to the point of Doctors giving me a clean bill of health, with no evidence of autoimmune disfunction. 

It was clear to me that if it took me this much energy, research, and development to create effective formulas I could trust, then other moms needed these formulas. It became my job to share my remedies with the world. My journey led me to realize my passion lives in the thrill of someone’s life lighting up because of my “being and doing”. It brings me joy and sustainable energy when I receive feedback from a customer about how one of my remedies has helped them find relief. I have made it my mission to help as many people as I can to release stress, anxiety, tension, inflammation, and pain. Once released, people gain clarity, focus, and energy. I believe when people are feeling their best, they can tap into their true selves and shine their light to make their greatest impact on this planet. 

Today Merkabody is here to help women and their families with our line of potent remedies, offered online and in select retail locations and through alternative health practitioners. All our formulas are Utah certified and backed with a “Love it or it’s on us” guarantee. We want you to glow up then witness what you achieve when you are the best version of you. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to where we are today has not been smooth, yet it has been enlightening. I needed to create formulas that are of the highest quality and made with integrity. This meant having to find quality sources, finding and aligning with people who hold the same values who would ultimately be my source of manufacturing, taking the time to do double-blind testing to find the effective formulas, and bootstrapping the entire project. They say something worth doing is not easy. This is true. 

When I set out to create the first formula, the state of Utah was still working out how they were going to regulate this emerging market. I had many setbacks the first few years as I jumped through regulation hoops and testing, while single handedly creating the design of packaging, marketing messaging, and launching. Due to the extended time, it took me to develop the Merkabody line, I launched into a market with many start-ups and a handful of large corporations. During the last few years, I have seen many of the start-ups fail, while the big boys quickly gain traction in the market. 

My greatest challenge is marketing on a shoestring budget. We have relied on word-of-mouth. The good news is that once we gain a customer, they keep coming back because what we offer works. People love their Merkabody. My other challenge is being a solopreneur. There is no IT team. The learning curve of creating the ecommerce side of my business is an ongoing project in self-education. I get to learn about tech when I am more comfortable playing with ingredients. As a businesswoman, I see these challenges as opportunities for refinement. I find great satisfaction in creating something from nothing. Then seeing how these creations make impressionable impacts on people’s well-being is my motivation. I would happily do it all over again. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Merkabody?
At Merkabody, we help women, and their families find relief from symptoms so they can feel their best, shine brighter and rule their worlds. Merkabody was created for women who know there is a natural intelligence within the remedies the Earth provides. We offer phenomenal formulas by working with some of the planet’s ancient ingredients that are just now becoming known to the hive consciousness. We understand women are busy raising families, taking care of parents, excelling in careers while making time for adventure, AND need a trusted source of natural remedies that work, that gets results, that they can confidently feed to their families. The world needs every women to stand in her full power right now. I believe women supporting women is gold. Every woman I can help step into her power, by helping her feel better, supports stronger families and better societies. I am proud of this work. 

Whether it is stress, pain, anxiety, low energy or just needing to feel balanced and ride a high vibe, Merkabody is committed to delivering superior quality products made to enhance your overall well-being. We have made it easy for you to feel your best and be there for all the people that rely on you. The wellness products we have created bring your being into optimum balance, by helping you release what hurts, increase your energy, focus, and clarity, and activate you to vibe at the highest frequency possible. Merkabody’s line of potent remedies nourishes not just the body, but the mind and soul too. 

Merkabody is the Union of Light Spirit and Body Mer=Light Ka=Spirit Bah = Body 

We believe anything introduced into your body should balance and raise the vibration of your entire being: To feel better again, physically & mentally. Ready to Glow-Up? We are here to help. 

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We have made it easy to work with us. Our website contains loads of information to help you get to feeling your best. We have a biohacking hotline available for questions and we have a health consulting service if you need to dive deeper into your specific biohacking needs. 

You can follow us on social media to be connected to Easy Daily Rituals, Tips, and Tricks to optimize your health and well-being. 

For those of you who would like to collaborate, Merkabody partners with Med Spas, Day Spas, Chiropractors, Psychotherapists, Massage Therapist, Acupuncturists, Estheticians, Dieticians, and Health Food Stores with wholesale offerings. Please email us for more information. 

We are honored to have current customers support us by sharing their stories through video testimonies and social media shares. Some of which may be found on our website. 

Pricing:

• Tinctures priced from 19$ to $139
• Topicals priced from 10$ to 68$
• Teas priced from 15$ to 22$
• Price Saving Bundles and Monthly Subscriptions Available
• Complimentary Education found on Social Media

Contact Info:

• Website: www.merkabody.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/biohackbossbabe
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/merkabody
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bessie-mcintosh-22849927/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp216qpFLAlkSVuR2wVPYnA
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@biohackbossbabe

Image Credits
Birdie Jean Hess
Team Merkabody